Getting back on the bike after an illness, a new job, or having babies taught me humility and compassion for myself. I had to fight down the regurgitated acid of what I “used to be able to do,” staring down at a soft belly and fumbling legs while my friends looked back, grinning.

Our July issue features six favorite road trips packed with island-hopping, crag-crushing, whitewater shredding, two-wheeled touring adventures for everyone. We also investigate the coal ash ponds threatening most of our readers’ drinking water and offer ten concrete actions that really can make a difference.

Jay Erskine Leutze was living a simple life in the mountains of western North Carolina when he was drawn into a battle against the operators of a proposed gravel quarry very close to the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) in the Roan Highlands near his home.